The present invention relates to the field of carrying or toting devices, and specifically to a tool belt attachment that allows a user to carry or tote a desired tool, such as a cordless drill, hammer, gas drive nail gun, stapler, or the like, that will be used intermittently, thereby freeing the user""s hands when he is not using the tool. More particularly, the present invention is an improvement of the Tool Belt Tool Tote described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,451 to the same inventor. The improved tool belt tote comprises a belt clip for attachment to a standard belt or workman""s tool-belt, a terminal swivel element and a swivel hook element, the improvement being in the manner in which the swivel hook element is connected to the terminal swivel element. In use, a tool supported by the swivel hook element is able to pivot freely from the terminal swivel element in order to maintain its center of gravity such that the tool will remain securely attached to the tool tote and can be rotated 180xc2x0 from center in either direction thereby remaining easily positionable and accessible to the user.
The prior art is replete with a variety of tool belts which are provided to retain one or more desired tools. Exemplary tool belts are provided with cloth, leather or steel loops which depend from the belt and which serve as tool retainers. Although useful to an extent, tool belts present certain inherent limitation. For example, because cloth is not necessarily a rigid structure, cloth loops may close when not in use, making it difficult for the user to replace the tool into the loop with one hand. Moreover, a loop may tightly constrict about a tool handle as the tool settles into position, thereby making it difficult to remove the tool when it is needed. Similar problems arise with the use of the more rigid leather type loops.
Although there exists tool belts that are equipped with steel hammer holders, these supports are non-adjustable. More significantly, the use of loops for retaining work tools requires that the tool being retained therein remains in a fairly static position; in other words, the tool fails to swivel as the user moves about. This situation can prove dangerous, as for example when the tool is a heavy instrument such as a hammer or has sharp edges, in that the tool may slip out of its loop when the user is climbing a ladder and the hammer head approaches an inverted position, thereby endangering personnel and materials located below.
Despite the teachings of the prior art, a need still exists for a tool toting device which may be attached to a belt or a tool belt that facilitates carrying a desired tool in a safe and convenient manner which frees the user""s hands. Such a device should be sufficiently rigid so that the user can store a tool onto it with one hand. Such a device also should permit swiveling of a carried tool so that the tool""s center of gravity is not shifted to a dangerous position but rather maintains the tool within the safe control of the user even while climbing about in a work space. Further, such a device should enable the user to easily re-position the tool for comfort, safety and greater accessibility. Finally, such a device should be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture but be of durable construction.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tool-belt tote device in which the aforementioned problems can be overcome comprising a clip removably detachable to a belt from which depends a swivelable hook element for retaining a desired tool.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tool-belt tote device for retaining a tool which can be removed single-handedly therefrom.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tool-belt tote device which permits the user to adjust the position of a retained tool to a position which is comfortable and easily accessible from both the left-hand and right-hand side of the user.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tool-belt tote device which is economical to manufacture, durable in construction and effective in operation.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following specification or may be learned by practice of the invention. To the accomplishment of the above-related objects, this invention may be embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings merely are illustrative, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.